Cessna 182B N166KM

Summary

On 6 July 1997 at about 00:25 local time, a Cessna 182B registered N166KM was involved in an accident near Medford, New Jersey, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 July 1997 at 00:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Medford, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

South Jersey Regional (VAY)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 182B

Registration

N166KM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC97LA135

Nobody was injured.

An inflight engine fire of undetermined origin.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had flown three circuits in the traffic pattern before he landed and shut the engine down to await hot air balloon traffic to depart the area. According to the pilot, '(The engine) was running great. Everything sounded normal and looked normal. About half way down on final I heard something between a bang and a thump. I don't know where it came from. The aircraft tried to nose up - started to pitch up, so I pushed the nose down. I didn't touch the throttle because I didn't want it to pitch up. I lost some altitude in a critical spot [and] struck the nose gear on the end of the runway. We went skidding down the runway on the nose. There were sparks and then out and out flames.' According to a witness, 'After they waited for the balloons, they did a fourth pattern. They were coming in on final when I heard a 'pow' noise - a loud 'pop'. After the 'pop', the plane came down like someone dropping a ball. I saw flames coming out of the cowlings while it was still in the air. The airplane touched down and the [nose] wheel popped back. The airplane slid for a short ways on the nose with the tail up in the air. Then the flames came from underneath and around the cabin.' Extensive fire damage precluded determination of the origin or what initiated the fire.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.